State looks to ax non-citizens from voter rolls

May 9, 2012|By Kathleen Haughney, Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE – Thousands of Florida residents may be illegally registered to vote in the state, elections officials announced Wednesday.

The Florida Departments of State and Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, comparing databases of voters and licensed drivers, have identified more than 2,600 residents – most from South Florida -- who may not be citizens and therefore not eligible to vote. The names have been turned over to local elections supervisors in the 67 counties.

"Florida voters need to know only eligible citizens can cast a ballot, and we're doing everything in our power to ensure that is the case," said Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

The bulk of the names – 2,000 – live in Miami-Dade County, with 260 more in Broward. Numbers for Palm Beach County were not immediately available. Only a handful were reported in Central Florida.

The state has been comparing its list of registered voters to a database of licensed drivers; since 2010, all applicants for new or renewal licenses have been required to show proof of immigration status. If further cross-referencing against other state databases and one maintained by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency indicates non-citizenship, the names are sent to elections supervisors.

Falsely registering to vote is a third-degree felony.

Still, the state's identification isn't foolproof, as Osceola Elections Supervisor Mary Jane Arrington found when she contacted the one name sent to her office. The man was a naturalized citizen, who brought in his citizenship papers. He also was a felon and had paperwork showing his voter rights had been fully restored.

"The gentleman was exasperated, naturally," Arrington said.

She and Seminole Elections Supervisor Michael Ertel said they often respond to suspect names generated by other agencies and take pride in proving that the other agencies – not theirs – have faulty records.

"Our database should be more sacrosanct than the other databases out there. I think, and I think most people think, that the privilege to vote is more important than the privilege to drive," Ertel said, whose office is checking six names. The Orange County supervisor's office could not be reached for comment.

Mary Cooney, director of public service at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office, said she'll ask the 260 people on her list to show proof of citizenship within 30 days, or they'll be removed from the rolls.

Cooney said her office could easily determine whether any ineligible voter actually cast a ballot.

County Mayor John Rodstrom said he thinks the names of anyone ineligible to vote who did vote should be turned over to the State Attorney's Office for investigation of voter fraud.

"If we have knowledge that a crime was committed, I think we are duty-bound,'' he said.

Cooney said some people register to vote for reasons other than voting, like to get a homestead exemption from property taxes.

She said she could see how a person could register mistakenly when getting a driver's license, especially if there's a language barrier.